American car tuners make bad-ass supercars … the Germans made this dorky cop car

National stereotypes are unfair and unwarranted. When it comes to the Germans, though, sometimes you just have shake your head.

At this year’s Essen Motor Show, the European version of the Specialty Equipment Market Association aftermarket showcase, German tuning house AC Schnitzer unveiled … a police car.

That’s right. Even the German tuning houses are so safe and responsible that, even at their specialty show, they show up with law and order.

The law and order in question is a modified BMW 4 Series Coupe, dubbed the ACS4 2.8i. I can’t imagine that Bimmer is pleased that AC stuck an S4 reference in the name.

Regardless of Audi references, the ACS4 is actually a very cool car. Other than looking fantastic, it is part of a very German program.

The initiative known as ‘TUNE IT! SAFE!’ is a partnership between the German Ministry of Transport and various German tuning houses to produce modified cars responsibly.

The results are impressive. The modified 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder puts out 294 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. That’s a big improvement from the standard 428i’s 245hp and 255 torques. All this power is good for 0-62 mph in 5.7 seconds.

To go with the grunt, AC Schnitzer has fitted a custom, race-derived suspension and sweet custom wheels. I don’t think the wheels technically make it go faster, but they do make it look faster. And that has to count for something.

Nor is the ACS4 just for show. The grave, Teutonic engineers of AC Schnitzer say that this car is ready to go and could be pursuing cars on the autobahn tonight.

The German Federal Police who patrol the autobahn probably can’t actually afford such a highly tuned Bimmer. But everyone can dream, can’t they?